Grain-drying apparatus



Sept. 15; 1925. 1,553,523

N. c. ELLIS ET AL GRAIN DRYI NG APPARATUS Filed March 20, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 WM. a. 544 M ,aw

Sept. 15, 1925.

N. C. ELLIS ET AL GRAIN DRYING APPARATUS Filed M r h 20. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 15, 1925.

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NQBMAN c. Ennis mninnimn'rjjoi ELLIS, orgevnn sron, rmzrnors, Ass muons mo ELLIS R R-" 4 LEV TIQB GQMIAN iQ QHIGAGO, BB BAT ON :O

ISC NS Mppficatlomfled ma 20,119 22. Seria1 No.544,987. j

To all whom'it may concern Be it known' that .WB,'NORMAN C. Ems

and .HUBERT -C. Ermafiboth. subjects of the- King of Great Britain, and r esidentsuot Evanston, in the county .of- Cook and State 0f Illinois, have invented certain .new and useful Improvements in Grain-Drying lAp paratus, of which the l following is a full,

compact apparatus, including" the drier, cooler, boiler, "heaterlan'd blower has been a 'd'esidera'tum and one-objectof the invention is to provide such a uriit=which maybe conveniently installed and which will be eflicient in operation. A notherjobject of the invention is to provide an improved grain drying apparatus in "which the heater Ito-r drying fluids, such asair, =is mounted directly on, and directly connected .to, the boiler, so that radiation "losses resulting from conducting the steam from the boiler to. the air ductsof'the-drier will beavoided.

The invention consists 'in the several novel I features hereinafter setforth and more par to a blast of cold or unheated air.

0 hereof.

ticularly defined by claims at the conclusion In the drawings Fig. 1 is fa' fron'televa tion of apparatusembedying the invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation." Fig.3 isa se'cti'on, parts being shown in elevation. Fig. 4 is ad'etail of the iheateripipes and their con;-

nections with the boiler.

The invention is exemplified in a structure comprising a grain drier 11 in which the grain is subjected to a blast of hot air and a cooler 12 into which the grain passes from the drier and in which it is subjectfiad T is drier and cooler may be of any suitable construction, for example, as that set forth in Letters Patent No. 1,127 ,794, dated Feb. 9, 1915, so that a detail illustration and description thereof are not deemed necessary. The drier illustrated in said patent embodies a series of grain shafts through which the grain descends in continuously settling columns, passing from the drier to the cooler under control of suitable valve-mechanism 15 and into similar shafts in the cooler. The

columns and is discharged from the low r 16. The structure 'iformin'g the drier and Work 17. I V V 4 The apparatus l0OII1pI'iS6S..31 Sl3e3/m boiler :18, a blower21, 'anrintake'22 -f0r'the blower which is connected to the exhaust d ucts of the cooler by a trunk 20, so thatzair will' be drawn :into the intake ducts of :the cooler through the grain in the shafts,thei'exhaust" ducts of the cooler and said trunk' to the intake eye of the blower. Ai'discharge trunk 19is connectedfto the outlet of the blower '21 todeliver air cfrom'theblowrto'theairfrom the cooler and Ifromfthe blower to the drier will be heated. The hot air from the trunk 23 will be -forced?'through the intake ducts, grain columns. and exhaust ducts in the drier 11 and then disc'harged.

endithereof control of asuitable valve cooler is supported "on a. suitable .frame- 7 I The casing 21 of-theblower'21'is-mounted on, and supportedby,-the boiler '18 whicli is Lpreferably of'the sectionalutype. The trunk 2O is supported on the boileryas at 25,=and

the portion around the .heater 24: is open to the 'top of the'boiler. The heater comprises steam pipes 26 which are securedinthe. wall a 27, which forms the topv of thezsteam chamber and' are surro-unded by radiatorpipes 28 which are secured in, and'extend upwardly from, the top wall 2910f :the boiler. The upper ends ofathe" pipes 28 are closed land the upper ends of the pipesz-26terrninate near the upper ends of thepipes 28, so that the condensate will pass downwardly through pipes 28'into the chambers 30 which conduct the1 condensate into the water legs of the boi er. i

through the grain in the cooler and through -In operation, cold air will be drawn i the trunk 20 to the inlet of the blower 21 v and then forced by the blower through} trunks 19 and 28 and through the grain drier unit 11. In transit through trunks 20 and 23, the air will be heated so that the grain in the drier unit will be subjected to a blastof hot air. i

A characteristic of theinvention is that are, mounted on the boiler used to supply steam to the heater which makes possible a compact structure in which the boiler is co nbinedwith the drying apparatus. An-

the blower and intake and exhaust trunks other characteristic is that the trunks,

through which the air is drawn, are disrestricted to the 'details set forth, since posed above the boiler so that pipes rising directly from the boiler may be utilized to heat air in transit to the drier unit. The

structure, in its entirety, in which boiler, heater, blower and cooling and drying units are combined, is of particular advantage in installments for small elevators where economy of space is a factor.

The invention is not tolbe understood as i these may be modified within the scope of we claim as new and desire to secure by'Letters Patent, 1s:

the appended claims, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Having thus described the invention, what 1. The combination of a drier, a boiler, a duct for delivering drying fluid to the drier extending overv the boiler, a steam heater VT for said fluid mounted directly on top of and connected to receivelsteam from the boilerand extending'across said duct, and

' means for forcing fluid through said duct.

vto'the drier. a

2. The combination of a drier, a steam "boiler, a ductfor delivering drying fluid to thedrier extending over the boiler, a steam heater for said fluid comprising a series of pipes mounted on and adapted to receive steam directly fromvthe top of and connected'to receive steam from the boiler and ex- I tending upwardly therefrom'into said duct,

pipes connected directly to top of the boiler and extending upwardly therefrom into said duct, and means for forcing fluid through I. and'means forwforcing fluid throughsaid duct to the drier.

3-. The combination of a drier, a steam boiler, a duct. for d'eliveriiigdrying fluid to the drier, extending over the boiler, a heater for said fluid comprising inner and outer said duct to the drier.

.4. The combination of a drier, aboiler,

'a'heater in said ducts;

8. The combination of a drier comprisinga duct for delivering drying fluid to the drier,a-heater for said fluid in the duct, and

'a'heater for-said fluid connected to the top of the boiler. and extending upwardly across said duct and a blower for forcing, fluid around the heater and to the drier, mounted on top of the boiler.

7 The combination of a drier comprising superposed cooler and drier units, .a boiler, a blower mounted on the top of the boiler, a duct for delivering fluid from the coolerunit to the blower, .a duct-for delivering fluidfrom the blower'to thedrier unit and I superposed cooler and drier, units, a boiler, a blower, a duct for delivering-fluid from the cooler unit to the blower, a duct for delivering fluid from the blower to the drier 'unit, said ducts extendingover the boiler,-

and a series of heater pipesconnected directly to theftop of the boiler and extending upwardly across saidducts.

. 9. The combination of a drier comprising superposed cooler and drier units, a boiler, a blower mounted on the top of the boiler, a duct for deliveringlfluid from the cooler unit to the blower, a duct for delivering fluid from the blower to the drier unit, and ducts being extended over the boiler, and a series of heater pipesconnected directly to the top of'the boiler and extending upward- 1y across said ducts. s

NORMAN G.' ELLIS.

HUBERT' G. ELLIS. 

